Sunday, March 09, 2014

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: The Xinjiang Theory

Terrorism seems the likeliest explanation for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 at this time. The obvious target is China.

Most of the 239 people on board were Chinese. Only a few were US citizens. This was a flight from Malaysia to Beijing. The US is not the target of the attack.

Of the 227 passengers, 153 were Chinese. The attack was directed either at Malaysia or China.

Malaysia would be an odd choice of attack for an Islamist group. That nation has been in the news recently for its increasing radicalism and Islamization.

For example, Malaysia is refusing to allow all non-Muslims from using the word "Allah."

On China's end, only last week, the Kunming knife attack by Xinjiang separatists, which killed 29 people, was called "China's 9/11." Authorities have promised a firm crackdown on Xinjiang as a result.

At least 100 people have died in outbreaks of violence in Xinjiang over the past year. The region is heavily Muslim. Militants have been blamed for a recent suicide attack in Tiananmen Square.

China blames outside groups for instigating violence. It's not so hard to imagine a "Go" signal was recently given, resulting in Kunming last week and now the aircraft disaster.

Experts dispute that Kunming was part of global terrorism, citing the simple knives that were used, but that seems besides the point. The attackers were suddenly riled up and used what they had available to them.

If the facts continue to lead in the direction of Islamist terror against China and its actions in Xinjiang, "China's 9/11" didn't end with Kunming. It merely began there.